Journal of Intelligent and Robotic Systems 28: 295–296, 2000.

295

Book Review

Handbook of Industrial Robotics, Shimon Y. Nof (ed.),

Wiley, New York, 1999, ISBN 0-471-17783-0, xxii+1348 pp. (plus CD-ROM).

This is the second edition of the Handbook of Industrial Robotics first published in
1985. Since that time, recognized as the golden age of factory robots, robotization
has been extended from the factory to many other sectors of modern life providing
a variety of quality products at lower prices. Today there are robots working suc-
cessfully in mining, construction, agriculture, under-sea works, fishery, domestic
services, health-care services, etc. This edition reflects the latest developments and
constitutes a rich and powerful source of information for students, researchers and
professionals, prepared by 120 leading experts from 12 countries.
The Handbook contains 66 articles (half of which are new) dealing with impor-
tant topics in the theory, design, control, and application of robotics. These articles
are grouped in the following twelve parts.

• Part 1: Development of Industrial Robotics.

• Part 2: Mechanical Design.
• Part 3: Control and Intelligence.
• Part 4: Programming and Intelligence.
• Part 5: Organizational and Economic Aspects.
• Part 6: Applications: Planning Techniques.
• Part 7: Applications: Design and Integration.
• Part 8: Robotics in Processes.
• Part 9: Robotics in Operations.
• Part 10: Robotics in Various Applications.
• Part 11: Robotics around the World.
• Part 12: Robotics Terminology.

Part 1 (four articles) deals with the history of robotics, the state of robotics
in Japan, the use of machine intelligence in robotics, and the merging trends and
industry needs.
Part 2 (seven articles) discusses the topics of manipulator design, robot kine-
matics and dynamics, robot hands/end-effectors, mobile and walking robots, tele-
robotics, teleoperation, microrobotics, and nanorobotics.
296 BOOK REVIEW

Part 3 (six articles) is devoted to robot controller design, robotic sensors, stereo
vision in robotics, robot motion planning and control, intelligent robot control, and
virtual reality in robotics.
Part 4 (six articles) investigates aspects of programming (on-line, off-line) and
intelligence, namely: learning, reasoning, problem solving, neurofuzzy techniques,
multirobot systems, and group behavior of robots.
Part 5 (five articles) presents the industrial robotics standards, the impacts of
organization and automation on production workers qualification, the management
of CIM/robotics, the role of CIM/robotics in enterprise re-engineering, and the
robot integration within manufacturing systems.
Part 6 (six articles) deals with product design and production planning, opera-
tional research methods in robotics, AI/multi-agent techniques, robot ergonomics,
human factors in robotics, and justification of robotic systems.
Part 7 (seven articles) reviews the issues of robotic manufacturing cells,
FMS/CIM, reliability/maintenance/safety, CAD and graphic simulators/emulators
in robotics, precision and calibration, and implementation of robotics.
Part 8 (seven articles) is concerned with the topics of fabrication/processing ro-
botic foundries, spot/laser/arc welding, painting/coating/sealing, flexible fixturing,
workpiece handling, and gripper selection.
Part 9 (seven articles) investigates the robot utilization in material handling/
warehousing, assembly, quality assurance and inspection, maintenance and repair,
product remanufacturing, and microassembly.
Part 10 (ten articles) discusses the application of robots in automotive/tran-
sportation systems, electronics/semiconductor industry, space operations, appli-
ance industry, food and agriculture, apparel/wire/wood industries, construction and
shipbuilding, process industries, domestic services, and medicine/health care.
Part 11 (one article) presents the status of robotics around the world using
several technical/statistical studies concerning: robot population, robot shipment,
average price per robot, robot density by country, etc. The overall conclusion is
that robotics is booming all over the world in both the industrial and non-industrial
sectors of society.
Part 12 presents a comprehensive list of terms that are extensively used in
robotics. Each term is defined and explained within the context of robotics.
This Handbook is really a must for all libraries (institutional, company, in-
dividual) because not only it discusses almost any aspect of robotics, with an
extremely rich list of references and publications, but also it provides the start-
up and stimulating material for the student, researcher and practitioner for more
and more advancements and findings in the field.

National Technical University of Athens, SPYROS G. TZAFESTAS

Athens, Greece